


You Can't Judge A Book

by ZimVader0017



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Aziraphale is a librarian (Good Omens), Bad Flirting, Crowley is Good With Kids (Good Omens), Crowley is a Teacher (Good Omens), Good thing kids are smart, M/M, Soft Aziraphale (Good Omens), Terrible First Impressions, do not copy to other sites, primary school AU, these guys need help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZimVader0017/pseuds/ZimVader0017
Summary: Librarian Ezra Zach Fell is quite content with his job in the Tadfield Primary School. He enjoys helping the kids with their reading and delights in the way their eyes light up when they find a book they really like. He's not very social, often preferring to stay in the library, but still willing to lend an ear to his colleagues if they needed it. One day, his peace is broken with the arrival of a new teacher. Anthony J. Crowley is loud, unpredictable, and way too imaginative for his tastes. It's made worse when the kids in his care are equally boisterous under his influence. The fact that the guy doesn't seem to understand boundaries and seems intent on starting a friendship with him has him very cross indeed.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	You Can't Judge A Book

Ezra Zacharias Fell had started his morning as he always did: A nice cup of earl gray tea with some toast and jam. Sweet Mrs.Wilson had come around to say her good mornings and to leave a list of reading materials for her students. He rather enjoyed receiving the kids in the library. It was always a treat to see how their eyes opened in understanding and to see how their appetites for learning grew. 

He enjoyed teaching children and opening their minds with good books. Many of his colleagues would ask him why he was a librarian instead of a teacher, as he clearly had the patience and he was very well liked by the children. 

The reason why he preferred to be a librarian is that it gave him the opportunity to teach about pretty much anything without the limitations of having to teach one or two subjects. It's true that those limitations did not exist when teaching very young kids, but while all his colleagues praised his patience, he sadly did not know how to deal with very small children. Ms. Miller was an absolute saint in his humble opinion. 

Some hours before his lunch time, and during the morning recess, Mr. Brown, the principal had requested a meeting in the teachers lounge. He was a bit confused because usually the meetings would be after school and they usually didn't require _his_ presence as he wasn't a teacher proper. He gently dispatched the couple of kids who would spend time in the library during recess and closed up with a sign that he will return in an hour. 

Upon arriving, he stood near the entrance of the lounge. In front of the group, Mr. Brown was standing next to a tall, lanky redhead with the worst posture Ezra had ever seen. His clothing was barely within regulation, just enough to be in dress code. His hair was still way too long in his opinion. In fact, in his opinion, this young man currently standing next to the principal awaiting presentation honestly looked like what one would call a "hellion". 

"Is everybody here? Yes? Alright. Well, the reason why I called you here is that starting today you will have a new colleague. Yes, I know that it's a bit late in the term, but after Mr. Sanchez retired suddenly because of health issues, we needed to fill the position or risk leaving the kids without a teacher. Thankfully, this gentleman here was available on short notice. I will let him present himself to you."

He moved to the side and motioned for the tall man to step forward. 

"Uh, yeah. Hi. My name's Anthony J. Crowley. I'm looking forward to working with you all." 

"Right. If there are any questions, Mr. Crowley, I will be in my office, or you can just ask Mrs. Romero. She has seniority in this school and knows a bit more than I do." 

Mrs. Romero nodded at him and they were dismissed. Ezra stood for a while longer, quietly observing the newcomer. He was startled when he caught his eye, the other man looking him over and then giving him a small smirk. Refusing the blush that wanted to appear on his face (the other man was certainly handsome on closer inspection), Ezra fixed his waistcoat and went back to his library duties. He did not worry about appearing rude, as this Mr. Crowley did not look like the kind of guy who would be into visiting libraries.

He unfortunately forgot just which subjects were usually taught in Mr. Sanchez’s former classroom.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anthony J. Crowley wasn't the type of person one would first visualize when one imagined a primary school teacher. Of course, we’re always taught to not judge people on their appearance as these can be deceiving, and nothing is more true in his case. 

Outwardly, he seems like one of those fellows who would prefer to lurk in dark corners in hopes of getting someone to buy their drugs, or someone who spends their days in other similarly unsavory hobbies. 

In actuality, Anthony was surprisingly well educated, could follow a conversation in almost any topic, and had the highest praises for his expertise in teaching children. Kids adored him as, unlike other teachers, he didn’t underestimate them and encouraged them to keep learning, keep reading, keep researching. He hadn’t had the opportunity to learn as much as he had wanted when he was their age, he would be damned if he prevented a child from gaining more knowledge. 

Currently, he was waiting for the kids to come back from recess (Mrs. Romero being kind enough to provide him with the classroom number and the roll call papers), looking over the worksheets that had been left for him by Mr. Sanchez along with helpful notes about certain students that might need more help than the others. Mr. Brown would come over when the bell rang to explain what was going on to the kids, and then he would be left to his own devices. 

Meanwhile, he daydreamed about the cute blond he had seen during the meeting. From Mrs. Romero, bless her, he had learned that he was named Ezra Zacharias Fell, he was the resident librarian, and that if you needed to co-teach a subject using library resources, he was your man. His reaction to Anthony was odd, but not surprising. He knew how he looked, he had his fair share of bad first impressions, but he preferred it this way as it served as a teaching moment about not judging others.

What _did_ surprise him though was that while Fell’s expression certainly was of unapproval, most of it was of quiet appreciation even if the librarian didn’t notice it. Apparently, the poor man’s eyes betrayed him and decided to skim over his figure when he thought he wasn’t looking. 

Not that the appreciation wasn’t mutual. 

The short librarian looked like what people would call “comfortable”. His curly blond hair was soft, his face projected kindness and warmth, even his clothes, antiquated as they were, gave out the feeling of that cozy nook in the corner of a coffee shop one is always seeking out. When Mrs. Romero told him how much the kids liked Mr. Fell, he wasn’t surprised. He looked like the kind of person that could make people flock to him without any effort.

So, the fact that he upturned his nose slightly while fixing his waistcoat and walked away without a word, trying his hardest to appear rude, well you could forgive Anthony for finding it incredibly amusing. 

He was brought out of his daydreaming by the bell. Well, time to meet some kids.

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to write this up in between doing homework and writing my grad monography.  
> Ain't it annoying how it can take you three days to write one page for homework, and yet you manage to write out four pages for a fanfic in two hours? Is it just me?
> 
> I'm currently writing the second chapter (The Them will make their entrance), but I can't promise you an exact date of upload. Am tempted to include the rest of the characters at some point, but I would have to figure out how to make it coherent.
> 
> My native language is not english, and I don't have a beta, so any corrections you feel are neccesary are appreciated.
> 
> Enjoy! <3


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